Quote Originally Posted by cegorach1
THe purges WERE to prepare the attack - Stalin needed loyal commanders and was sure he will able to train new generation of these - the purges were in 1937-38 - not later.
THe Russians do not care about losses - never did - so this is not important too.
Yes Stalin needed loyal commanders. The Soviet Union needed great commanders.

Stalin choose his need above that of the Soviet Union.

That is not an act of brilliance it is an act of fear of what the great commanders could have done to his rule.

Not caring about losses is not an act of brilliance either. Wars are often won by who can outlast the other, squandering resources is not smart. As Paton said it is not the job of you to die for your country it is your job to make the other guy die for his country. Any commander who squanders his men for personal glory is a vain idiot.

One of my favourite generals, Sir John Monash stated:

The true role of infantry is not to expend itself upon heroic physical effort, not to wither away under merciless machine-gun fire, not to impale itself on hostile bayonets, but on the contrary, to advance under the maximum possible protection of the maximum possible array of mechanical resources, in the form of guns, machine-guns, tanks, mortars and aeroplanes; to advance with as little impediment as possible; to be relieved as far as possible of the obligation to fight their way forward.
The Russia tactics if anything where the opposite of this.